Farmers face new fees, rules when setting up produce stands

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HILLSBORO, Ore. – Charles Starr has spent more than half his life planting and picking.

“This is something I really enjoy,” he said.

Starr, 80, owns a "U-pick" farm stand in Hillsboro. Washington County Farmers like Starr are facing new fees and rules in order to set up stands on their own land to sell fruits and vegetables.

“People that build stands in the future will have to go through the process that land use hearings and complications of that,” Staff said. “Just to have a stand.”

After more than 40 years of selling fruits and vegetables at his stand, Starr said he would have never been able to get it off the ground if he’d been forced to pay hundreds of dollars in fees.

The new rules were set by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. They require new farm stands larger than 200 square-feet to go through the new process. Starr and other farmers who already have stands would likely be grandfathered into the new fee system.

Charles Starr’s son, State Senator Bruce Starr (R-Hillsboro), proposed an amendment to lessen the fees and simplify the process. The Oregon Legislature is expected to discuss it as early as this week.